The Strange Adventures of TTIP
by wanderland
Summary: Roxas was your average boy, well, except for the fact that supernatural spirits were attracted to him like glue.  When he meets the crew of Twilight Town Institute...of Psych?  Yeah, things were going to get a LOT worse.  [Roxel, more pairings]
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Don't own Kingdom Hearts, or XXXholic and Ghost Hunt, from which I gained the inspiration to write this.

* * *

Now this was paradise. I stretched my long legs out and relished in the fact that today would be a _very _good day. 

The sun was shining, a beautiful beacon of today's good fortune. Everyone and everyting was glowing with joy. The birds chirped merrily, the children giggled as they skipped home, the road glittered miraculous colors…

My feet began to drag. My pace slowed considerably as my legs barely made any effort to move.

"Ahh…not agaaain," I groaned. "I was going to stop by the grocery store!" People gave me incredulous looks as I crept past them, my feet wobbling weakly as they slid on the floor. There better not be any gum on the floor, I angrily thought.

I crawled for what seemed a good hour until a pair of yellow inflated shoes blocked my way. They were ridiculous shoes that made me feel marginally better about my own ridiculous predicament that had me crawling to get home.

The previous said person bent down and smiled brightly at me. Call me a sucker, but my heart seemed to soften a bit. He didn't exactly look like he was from around here, though. His face was tan with mat of brown hair sticking on top of his head. His hair did look strange, but it seemed to fit him perfectly. He wore a red jumpsuit that made his appearance stand out a great deal more. He stuck his hand out.

"Need some help?"

His face mirrored countless others who had tried to assist me, so I humored him. "Yeah, could you get this thing off my back?"

He scratched his head. "Well…you see…" I inwardly sneered, he was probably trying to think of some nice way to say I'm crazy.

I smiled back at him. "Nah, just kidding." I nudged my legs, which were beginning to feel numb, "If you'll excuse me, I'd better be off." I once again began my crawl.

He, however, seemed to be in his own world and mumbled, "I'm not really good at this kind of thing….Riku's better…ah…oh well." I heard him vigorously argue with himself for another minute until he finally cried, "I'll do it! OK, so…huh? Where'd you go?" He stared at the spot I had occupied a minute ago until he heard my grunt. I couldn't help it though; they were getting stronger and stronger.

He ran over to me and slapped me on the back. "There you are! As I was saying, this isn't really what I do, but I'll give it a try. So what's going to happen is when I count to three, you're going to start running. Kay?" He smiled another blindingly dazzling smile.

I, however, was not in the same mood as he was, nor was I in the mood to humor him again. "Sorry, but I really must be on my way. So if you could just let me—"

He ignored me and put a finger up in the air.

"One…"

Seriously?

"Two…"

He's seriously serious?

"THREE!" He yelled as he again slapped me on the back. This time I didn't feel it at all. In fact, I felt _lighter._ "Come on, follow me!" He shouted as he pulled my hand up.

Ah, what the hell.

I got up and stood there, but transfixed in a daze. He stomped his foot— how girly— before he tugged me along at an alarmingly fast pace. The surroundings seemed to blur a little and my legs felt like they were going to plop out again.

After awhile, I stopped keeping track of how much we ran. Everything was a blur and time was meaningless. Or at least it felt that way. Every now and then he would shout what he thought would be supportive phrases or energetic haikus or something entirely odd of that sort.

"Here we are!" The boy announced, a hand waved in the general direction of a building. "TTIP!" I blankly stared at the building, which seemed to be a shop or sorts, with an OPEN sign on a shelf behind one of the two windows on each side of the store, with an old oak door in-between.

"…Tip?" I faintly repeated.

He launched into another excited babble. "Not tip, like 'I'm going to tip the waiter', but TTIP as in Twilight Town Institute of Psych!"

"That doesn't exactly make sense…"

He shrugged. "I've told Squall a million times to change the name, but he likes how you can just say TTIP instead of T-T-I-P, ya know?"

"Um, not really," I admitted.

"It's Leon." A voice stated from behind me.

"Whoa!" I cried and jumped. I took a swift look behind me and saw a man with…_lots _of leather on. And lots of belts, I silently added. He seemed amused by my gaping expression, but quickly shuffled his face back into an icy stare. "Who's this?"

The boy didn't look like he was fazed at all by the man's stone face, but, rather, he looked slightly happier. If that's possible. "New recruit."

The older man sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb. "I thought I told you not to bring in new people without telling me first."

"I know, but I just met this guy when I was walking here. I couldn't leave him, it was too good to be true! He's exactly what we need!" His face melted into a puppy dog stare.

The man sighed and glanced at me again before heading into the shop. "Let's talk about this inside, I feel a bit warm." I stared at his abundance of leather and believed it.

The boy took my arm and led me in. The moment I stepped in, it looked …dreary. The floor was a cold, hard gray, with no effort made to spruce it up with a carpet or any décor. The walls were of the same consistency, the only change was a singly picture frame of the brown-haired boy with a title that said: Employee of the Month. As I observed closer, at the other end of the long room were two couches on either side of the single room and a coffee table sitting cozily in the center. A rug donned the center of the floor there. Other than that, no further efforts were made in the room.

On each couch sat two people. On the right hand couch sat two girls. The one closest immediately jumped up when heard the door open. Even though I knew nothing about her, I could tell she was the eccentric type. Her long, blond hair was filled with beads and other knick-knacks. She wore a shorter than short mini denim skirt and a white spaghetti tank top. A yellow bikini top was visible through it. The girl beside her was dressed modestly in comparison to the blonde. Her hair was almost burgundy, but with a more reddish hint. She wore a simple pink sundress. On the other side, sat a blonde-haired man wearing nothing but black. Next to him was another black-haired woman who also wore the same attire. The blonde-haired man gave her agitated looks, but she seemed to be occupied with cracking her knuckles that were covered with black gloves.

"Welcome home Squallie-poo!" The bubbly blonde cried out, her arms opened to him. Squall, err..Leon, stepped back, twitched, and then continued to take her place on the right couch.

"The front room is for the customers, not for the employees to sit. Why doesn't anyone listen?" He asked, mostly to himself, I supposed. That was because everyone was too busy staring at me.

"Awww, why didn't you hug me?!" The girl whined, her braids flipping around her neck as she bounced in place. It didn't look like she could stand still for very long.

"Rikku…could you please quiet down for a second. We have a visitor."

The girl named Rikku turned on spot to gaze at me. I weakly smiled in return.

The brown-haired boy tapped his foot impatiently. "Hire him already, Squall!"

"Leon."

"Okay, _Leon, _will you hire him?"

"What's so great about him?" Rikku piped in as she leaned towards me.

"_They're_ attracted to him. They stick to him like glue! When I first saw him, he was on the floor because he couldn't even budge!"

"How'd you get him here if he was stuck?" The red-head curiously asked, taking in my appearance.

Sora stood taller and proudly said, "I stuck a ward on him and ran like hell. It didn't even last that long, it's amazing how engrossed they were with him!"

This seemed to catch Squall/Leon's attention. "What's your name?"

"Ah…I-I'm Roxas.." I stammered. He was intimidating, especially when he was staring right through you. I felt a slight surge of admiration for the brunette next to me who had stared at him without faltering.

"Do you know why your body gets like that?" He quietly inquired. Everyone else seemed to remain silent, even the girl Rikku.

"Not really…I just thought it happens sometimes…" I murmured. To be honest, I never had given it too much thought. It seemed almost _normal _after how many times it occurred.

Squall's gaze deepened. "The force you feel, they're—"

"Ghosts!" Rikku cheerfully interrupted, oblivious to the man's death stare he was shooting at her.

However, he continued. "To be exact, they're more spirits or supernatural monsters that are plaguing you."

"Oh…really…" I managed to get out. My head felt very feathery and had a hard time soaking in the information around me.

The man still continued as if I had not said anything. "It seems as if they're magically attracted to you somehow." He paused, submerged in his thoughts. "Do you have a job at the moment?"

"Well…I'm sort of in-between jobs at the moment." I replied. It wasn't as if I could say completely jobless and currently scrounging up for a way to pay the bills.

"Well then, I'll hire you. What do you think?"

As a reflex, I straightened up and answered, "Yes!" without even thinking.

The boy next to me patted my shoulder and said, "You're one of us now, so I'll introduce you to the crew.

"I'm Sora. If you can remember earlier, I see spirits so they call me the Watcher. It sounds freaky though, eh? As if I'm a stalker or something…

"Anyway, the blonde girl in front of you is Rikku. She does the odd jobs and…" He stopped. "What _do_ you do again?"

Rikku huffed and retorted, "I do odd jobs, such as lock picking and well… the occasional thieving. Oh, and some chants. My family owns a shrine so it kind of rubbed off on me. My mother actually wanted me to be a miko!" She cried, finding the idea outrageous.

The boy Sora took over then. "The girl sitting next to Squeon is Kairi. She's actually a childhood friend of mine. She's Squeon's assistant and manages the some of the paperwork and missions…And she serves the customers tea and other snacks." He then pointed to the blonde man in black. "That's Cloud. He's one of the 'hunters', I guess you could call him. He's one of the people that go on the missions and deals with the actual supernatural stuff. The woman next to him is Tifa. They're childhood friends as well. She's a hunter too, if you could tell. There's a few other people that are hunters too, but they're on a mission at the moment, so you'll meet them later."

He then moved on to the edge of the couch where Kairi sat. He then pointed down. "And lastly…Namine."

I went on my tip-toes to look over the couch. Squall gave me a blank stare as if to say something particularly nasty, but kept silent. I walked over to Sora and saw a single girl sitting on the floor, staring at several cards on the floor.

"This is Namine, our resident fortune teller." The girl coughed. "I mean, tarot card reader. She feels insulted when we call her that," Sora added to me.

"Oh, well…hi everyone." I meekly said.

The crew all either waved or smiled in my direction, except Rikku who crushed me into a hug with surprising strength, and Squall/Leon who was apparently zoning out.

Rikku dived into another fast explanation. "There's a backroom where the kitchen is and all the paranormal junk we use sometimes. Squallie likes to have a little bit of everything in his arsenal against the unknown!" She ended triumphantly.

A thought had been nagging at me the entire time Sora and the others were explaining their jobs. "So…what's my job?"

Suddenly, everyone was quiet. Tifa stopped poking Cloud, who muttered a word or two after several jabs. Kairi looked up from speaking with Namine, whose eyes were still fixed on the cards. Same as Squall/Leon who was still daydreaming Even Rikku let loose of me and busied herself with a few strands of her hair that weren't braided or beaded.

Squall/Leon finally awoke from his daydream and answered, "_You're_ the bait."

The air became very, very still.

"Oh dear, one of my cards are bent," Namine stressfully said, breaking, the tense silence, oblivious to the rest of us or my brain's minor breakdown.

And that was my first day at TTIP, formally known as Twilight Town Institute of Psych.

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REVIEW PLEASE :)  



	2. Bestial Smile of a Beautiful Soul Pt1

Super sorry for the delay. No excuses (except for school and part-time work, but who's making excuses?). Read please!

* * *

Roxas had been raised a good, normal boy. He wasn't the type of child to have fits or act spoiled. His late parents had adored him and never scolded him. He did relatively well in school and was athletic enough. No one ever had anything bad to say about him either. When he was a child, he went to church every Sunday and sometimes on the weekdays when his mother had dangled him along. He wasn't sure exactly what that entailed, but he supposed it should have given him some minor good luck or something. He wasn't asking for any salvation, but just a little good luck now or then couldn't hurt, right? 

But, Roxas had given it a great deal of thought and had come to a conclusion. Unfortunately, his supposed good luck wasn't really working out too well. First, he couldn't properly walk anywhere without feeling a fifty ton weight on his back or some odd groping here or there. Two, his hair was constantly in bed head mode (that didn't really count as horribly bad luck, but it _did _have some sort of bad luck attached to it). Third, and lastly, he was the new recruit of TTIP.

That, in itself, was just as worse as item number one. That was his logical thought. His boss, Leon/Squall hated him. He couldn't be absolutely sure as his boss wasn't the most active speaker of the group, but he had been given subtle, slight hints. Roxas didn't know much about his boss, but he deciphered the to hints to mean his boss had made an effort to show his dislike when the man showed little emotion for anything, except for his rules and his name.

"_Where should I put the boxes Squall?"_

"_Leon."_

"_Um…Leon, where should I put them?"_

_The longhaired brunette strapped in leather barely noticed him other than a point in the general direction of the kitchen as Roxas dangerously wobbled with a box at least half his weight._

"_Anything else, Squall?"_

"…_."_

"_Erm, Squall?"_

"…_."_

"_Leon?"_

"_Um…Squalleon?"_

Rikku had unceremoniously jumped on him before his question had been answered, but Roxas knew his boss wasn't going to answer it anytime soon, if at all. That's when he began to call Squall/Leon 'Boss'. It was shorter and saved Roxas the trouble of fidgeting with the problem of which name to use.

Roxas set the box upon the round table in the kitchen. Come to think of it, Roxas thought, he hadn't even met all of the members of TTIP. There was the silent Boss, the happy Sora, the super happy Rikku, the Kairi (Roxas still didn't know every much about her), the short-tempered Cloud, the Cloud-loving Tifa, and the enigma that was Namine. He was sure that Rikku or Sora had mentioned other members, but there had been no appearance of the elusive characters yet.

He slumped down on a wicker chair and wiped his brow. Sure, the job was _supposed_ to do with the paranormal and otherworldly, but at the moment it was nothing other than hard, monotonous labor. Then again, his job was more of the male damsel, but there was some interaction with the supernatural (like getting smushed by them).

"Good job, newbie!" Rikku exclaimed enthusiastically, handing him a soda. She pulled herself on the table and rested her arm on the box. Her legs flailed on the edge of the table.

"…Thanks." Roxas reluctantly mumbled.

"You don't sound very happy."

"Really."

"You know…" Rikku moved her fingers on Roxas' arm, her manicured nails lightly trailing down his arm. "I would have helped you, but, you know, I just did my nails so that would be a big no-no right now."

Roxas sighed before answering. "Then where is everyone else? Or why didn't Boss help me?"

"One: Boss does NOT help. He observes. He whines about his name or whatnot. He does not, and I repeat, does not, help." Rikku waved her colored nails in front of his face. "Two: Boss is not in the building at the moment and nor do I think he will be for the rest of the day." Roxas leaned over and looked out the door. The couch was intact, but there was no trace of a brown-haired man on it. He must have left right after I spoke to him, Roxas thought.

"And third: everyone else is out doing cases, so you're the one who has to do the heavy duty work, so to speak." Rikku said.

"Then why are you here?"

"Obviously," Rikku drawled, "I'm here to protect you."

* * *

The man stood in the darkened street. The stars twinkled overhead, shedding dim lighting over the dark area. He flicked his lighter out and pulled a cigarette to the faint light and pocketed the lighter again. He inhaled.

He examined the shoe prints leading along the street. They faded as he observed each. He looked overhead to a mansion in the distance, lights illuminating in each window. He exhaled; there was going to be a long night ahead of him. His thoughts barely brushed over a slight concern on his new employee. He idly wondered if his other, more exuberant, employee was harassing said employee. Better safe than sorry, he rationalized.

"Thought you weren't going to make it." A man said, appearing from the shadows. His hair glinted under the light of the street lamps as the lights wavered, unseen by the two men. He raised his hand to the older man. "Shall we go?"

The man passed him, avoiding the outstretched hand as he brushed him. "I'm not paying you overtime."

The other, younger man smiled. "Didn't think you would."

The two walked in silence, the mansion shining on their path.

* * *

His pickles looked morose to him. If pickles can do that. He didn't know, he didn't like pickles. Yet there they were, increasing in number on the side of his place. His pickles were still neatly packed into his burger. He had specifically asked for no pickles, but there they were, contently tucked inside the blanket that was the burger buns. He yawned.

A thin finger placed another pickle on the edge of his place. A face pouted at him. "I'm sorry. I just don't like pickles."

The face belonged to Tifa.

Cloud wasn't sure why Tifa was sitting across from him in the yellow plastic booth, or why she was putting pickles in his plate. Oh, she didn't like them. Cloud thought that was strange; he didn't like pickles either. He picked up the limp pickles and folded them into a napkin with his own pickles. Tifa gave him disapproving look.

"That's a waste of food."

"….what?"

"There's like millions of people in this world without food, and here you are, stuffing precious, life-sustaining food into a napkin, and thus, wasting the napkin. Which wastes trees…" Cloud zoned out. Or at least he thought he did. He could see Tifa's lips moving up and down, but he couldn't hear what was coming out of them.

"Sorry…"

Tifa's eyes bulged for a moment. Then they popped right back in with a squelch noise. Or maybe Cloud was hallucinating. He _had_ been doing a lot of cases recently…when was the last time he slept? Two…three days ago? His eye unconsciously twitched to affirm his sleep depravation. Cloud's eyes blinked open when he felt a cool presence under them.

Tifa's forefinger was tracing the darkening bag under Cloud's left eye. Cloud, again, wasn't sure (he hadn't slept in awhile, after all), but it seemed that Tifa looked sad. Her eyes were downcast and even her gentle fingers seemed to hesitate on his skin.

"Cloud…I…I…" Her fingers lifted from his face. She looked serious and her fingers were awkwardly placed at his wrist. Cloud noticed she was a lot more colored than he was. Not to say that her skin was dark, but rather that her skin had more color in them. Cloud's skin was almost bloodless; he had not trace of blush or tint on his pale skin. Her voice abruptly changed. "You need some sleep Cloud, you don't look so good. Your face is so thin and white…"

Cloud stretched the edges of his mouth and smiled. Not the kind of smile where you can feel the muscles on the sides of your mouth stretch, but the kind where it comes naturally; you don't have to try or think about it. You just smile.

Tifa still looked serious though. "I know…I haven't been with you as long as …well as long as childhood friends usually do, but I want you to know that I care for you. I want you to be healthy … and happy." She retracted her hand and crossed them together. "You don't look happy."

…That sounds familiar.

"Thank you…Tifa. I will get some sleep…"

"..later." Tifa and Cloud's voices chorused. Tifa half-smiled. "Like I haven't heard that one before."

Cloud's phone rang. He answered. "Yeah…food. Tifa. Now? But—" The phone beeped as the call disconnected. "He's just like Squall. He has no patience."

"Yeah, but unlike Squall, he shows it," Tifa commented. She stood up. "I'll pay. Squall just gave me my paycheck."

"Sure? You haven't even eaten your burger…" Cloud eyed Tifa's burger.

Tifa asked the cashier for a box and placed the burger within it. "Well, _someone _always gets hungry after the job."

"Yeah he does." Cloud agreed.

Tifa lightly laughed. "I was talking about you."

"..Oh." Cloud stated, his plate resting on the table, sparkling clean.

* * *

Sora lounged on the couch. Namine sat on the floor, distantly gazing at her cards.

"Hey Nam, do you know when the others are going to come?"

Sora flopped up as Kairi walked through the door. Her hair was mussed and her sweater reached down to almost her knees. "Hi guys."

"Whoah, Kairi."

"Shut up. I've worked all day and I want to be lazy."

Sora put his hands up. "I meant to harm. Good look, I swear." Kairi sat down next to him and watched Namine. Who watched her cards.

"Kairi?"

"Yeah?"

"No."

Sora looked down to see Namine staring directly at him. "We're going to them. Now." She held up a card.

"What does that mean?" Sora blankly asked, scratching his head.

Namine's voice rang clear. "The Wheel of Fortune."

"That's not a bad card though, is it?" Kairi asked. She scooted closer to Sora and clutched to the sleeve of his shirt.

"Not always. But…" Namine picked several cards from her deck again. "With this alignment, the card symbolizes unexpected events, inevitable fate, bad luck, and failure. Tonight…is unclear." Namine finished, her eyes void of emotion.

* * *

"Ahh, my back," Roxas grumbled, collapsing onto the couch in the front room. Boss wasn't there so he didn't have to worry about 'warding' off customers. 

He had accomplished the feat of carrying all the boxes into the kitchen (a.k.a. back room) and arranged them into a neat corner. His back, however, was aching and Roxas swore he could feel a blister on his foot. To make it worse, he was tired _and_ hungry. Rikku had left several hours earlier and promised to return with food, but there was no sign of the hyperactive blonde. He turned on his side and faced the interior of the couch. And closed his eyes and gradually fell asleep.

The phone rang. Roxas jumped up from his sleep and pushed his messy hair form his face. He scrambled up and tried to remember where Boss had said was the office phone. He caught the glimpse of something beeping under the table next to the couch. He ducked down and saw the telephone. He answered. "Hello, this is the Twilight Town Institute of Psych, how may I help you?" Roxas was astounded by the tone of professionalism in his voice.

"Roxas?! Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me…Sora, are you okay?" Roxas quickly replied, surprised that Sora could be so upset. Sora answered and the line disconnected.

"Sora! Sora! What happened to Rikku?" Roxas shouted into the receiver. He began to search the drawers of the cabinet for Sora's cell number, but a thud sounded at the door. Roxas cautiously opened the door.

"Roxas, we have to go." Kairi stood at the door. She wore a long sweater that seemed to be tattered at the ends, as if they had been burned or slashed off. Her hair was plastered to her face and tears pricked down her panicked face.

"What happened?" Roxas asked again, frustrated at the fact that no one would answer him. "Where's Sora and Rikku?"

"Rikku…" Kairi repeated, her eyes seemingly lost for a second. She grabbed his hand with a look of determination. "No time. We have to go."

Kairi dragged Roxas down a path that he couldn't recognize. He knew the town inside and out, but the particular road was abandoned and…different. He couldn't see anything, except for a mansion at the end of the road, lights radiating in each window.

* * *

End of the 2nd chapter! This is almost like an arc, in which this would be called…can't tell yet. For now, the 'mansion'. Its real name will show up. I will try to keep a more regular schedule, sorry. Oh and still no Axel. Or is there? . Next chapter, I swear.

(0 0) -- if that strange smiley could talk, it would say "review". Seriously.


	3. Bestial Smile of a Beautiful Soul Pt2

Strange this is, I wrote one-third of this chapter immediately after posting the 2nd chapter. At about two a.m. I finally decided I'd tackle it another day. Which turned out a week later.

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Kairi's hair seemed dim and flat, Roxas thought. Her usually vibrant sheen of red had dulled to a lifeless crimson. Roxas gulped as he tried not to think of the omen it presented.

Kairi's strides were low and purposeful; each step was made with thought and care, her decision led her feet down the path she was meant to go. Roxas observed her face. It helped ease the rising dread he felt at the bottom of his heart: the panic slowly swallowing him.

Whenever Kairi's face distorted with sudden apprehension or flashed with fear—which was frequently—her pace quickened and Roxas had to speed walk to keep at length with her.

There was nothing to observe around him, except…woods. He supposed the woods led to the mysterious Twilight Town manor, but something was off. When had the woods looked so overwhelming or dark? And why were they going there anyway? No one had lived in that house for ages…Roxas guessed it was late, but he knew it wasn't so late that the road would be completely empty of people. He shrugged the thought off; there was no point in adding more worries.

Roxas noted that they had passed two crossroads already. By the time they reached the first, the road turned from asphalt to dirt and was completely encompassed by leafy green. When they reached the first crossroad, a man with a tall hat and long coat passed, his coattails flittering behind him in the wind. Roxas could see his eyes were directed toward the path, but he couldn't help but feel a sinister stare all the same.

The temperature had steadily decreased. Both Kairi and Roxas pulled their arms to their bodies, a futile effort to retain some warmth.

At the next crossroad, the same man appeared with an even more malicious gaze. Roxas looked back, but he could see nothing but darkness. He couldn't understand how the man had caught up with them so quickly…Kairi took his hand and whispered, her voice quivering with fear, "After he passes us, we run right, the opposite of his way."

Roxas had numbly nodded and soon enough, he was tugged into the direction. His lungs burned for air, but he couldn't properly take it the icy air. His sides cramped and his legs slowed. If he had been a normal boy, he would have thought it was a side effect of running, but he knew differently. "Kairi…I think there's ..something..on me." Roxas said, his breath shallow as his strength faltered.

"I don't know what to do! I don't have any powers or anything," Kairi cried, trying to pull my body back up from its slouching position. Roxas felt strangely sleepy.

"It's OK, I'll just…sleep. G'night." Roxas slurred. His vision began to fade and he reached to reassure Kairi, but he couldn't move his hand. Kairi's shocked and tear-stricken face was the last thing he saw

------

Roxas awoke with bright lights flashing down upon him. His body felt incredibly sore and he squinted as he open his eyes. There was a large chandelier in a room that looked about the size of a living room with a fireplace crackling in the background. He sat up and pushed the thick blanket covering him. His eyes meet Kairi's. Her face looked as worn and just as anxious as before, fidgeting in her seat. Namine, for once, sat next to her, a frail hand resting on Kairi's arm. Her cards remained untouched on the table. She looked up at Roxas as well.

"Wh-what happened…" Roxas finally made out.

Kairi feebly answered. "Namine came and saved us. She used a minor spell to distract the spirits and then she…came back up with us."

"I see…" Roxas replied. He felt like he was missing something though….and like he had also forgotten another thing…something important…He tried to remember, but his thoughts were all jumbled. Where were they? Why were they there? What happened…? Roxas jolted up again and stood.

"Is Rikku alright?"

Kairi looked at the floor and shook her head. She looked devastated. Roxas didn't know the two were such good friends, but if she was that sad…Roxas felt his heart tighten. He couldn't imagine the bubbly, silly Rikku to be hurt…

"Why couldn't you do anything!" Roxas demanded at Namine. "If you are a Seer, then why couldn't you stop it?!"

Namine rested both hands in her lap. Her face was still cold and unflinching. "I may be a Seer of sorts, but…" She hesitated. "I can't always…do something. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try and how much you know about the future, it can't be stopped. It's inevitable."

Roxas' anger increased. "Fate, huh? What a _convenient_ excuse! Why do anything if fate decides for us! What an easy choice!" Roxas furiously shouted.

Kairi's eyes widened and she immediately turned her head to Namine.

Namine wringed her hands. Roxas was shocked for a moment; was Namine showing emotion?

"I…I…" Roxas muttered at a loss for words. He hadn't meant to be so cruel, but the words just came out wrong. "I-I…mean—" Roxas added before he was interrupted.

"It's not easy," Namine whispered. "To know exactly what will happen and to not be able to save it…to lose someone…it is not an easy choice. It was _never_ a choice." Namine's voice was drowned in pure, strong grief.

Roxas instantly regretted his actions. "I'm sorry…I didn't mean to snap like that," Roxas apologized. "How is she?"

Kairi answered with a confused tone. "She?"

Roxas couldn't believe they had forgotten about her. "You know, Rikku? Your co-employee?"

"He's…recuperating."

"He?" Roxas incredulously replied.

Namine silently said, "Roxas hasn't met him yet…has he?"

Kairi shook her head and clarified, "Riku with one K, not two K's. The Riku with one K is a guy. He is Sora's best friend."

--

The heart monitor beeped at regular intervals. Sora didn't know what to do. Riku laid there…so defenseless. His silver hair appeared gray and pale within the dreary room, filled with various medical instruments. Countless wires were plugged into Riku.

Riku's hand was in Sora's. He tried to push the injection from Riku's wrist so that he could better hold his hand, but Sora grew afraid he might accidentally unplug the wire and gave up entirely. Riku's hand was still cold.

Sora stifled a slight sob in his throat. It was all his fault. If he was stronger…if he could protect instead of being protected…

Leon stood in the doorway, absentmindedly touching the edge of his gunblade. "It's not your fault," Squall quietly said, breaking the overpowering silence.

Sora grasped Riku's fingers tighter. "So Riku just _magically_ appeared in front of me and got hurt. Is that right?" Sora bitterly answered.

"It's his job."

"His job is to get hurt for others?"

"No…" Squall said, sounding as tired as ever, "His job to protect others. Those who are most important to him."

"That's what I want to do!" Sora defiantly said. "Being able to see spirits, but not able to do anything about them…" Sora hung his head and stared at the heart monitor as the red line of Riku's life slightly wavered. "I feel so useless."

The room was silent once more before Squall spoke.

"…you can't do it…"

"Do what?" Sora demanded. "What can't I do?"

"It's…Squall held up his gunblade. "Do you know what this is?"

"Erm…your sword-gun thing."

Squall rubbed his temples and sat on the folding chair next to Sora. He neatly balanced the weapon on his palm. The tip of the object gleamed.

"This isn't just any weapon. It exorcises spirits and demons. More specifically, in my case, it's a gunblade."

Sora stared in awe. Well, now he knew the reason why introverted Squall had become the leader of TTIP.

"But…it's not something anyone can get…" Squall sat silent for a moment, deep in thought. His body relaxed into a less stiff position and directed his attention to Riku's sleeping form. "If you try to get the power without enough strength…it backfires. Like with Riku."

"…Riku?"

"You've seen it before. A keyblade. The blade to open hearts. To cleanse possessed souls. That's what it does…but Riku took too much power. To have the power to open hearts…you must give up something of equal value. However, Riku doesn't have nearly enough power to do that, let alone even wield the blade."

"So what does that mean? What happens then?" Sora had seen the weapon earlier in the evening when he first arrived at the mansion with Kairi and Namine. Squall and Riku were speaking with the owner of the mansion. Squall had his gunblade in his hand and Riku had something in his hand as well, but Sora hadn't taken much notice to it. He figured it was one of Squall's many gadgets. Then they heard a noise from the right wing so they went up and search the cause of the noise…and Riku…Riku…Sora barely remembered Namine whispering to Kairi when Riku was first rushed into a nearby room, which caused her to suddenly jump up and rush out of the room. He had been too busy setting up all the medical supplies that Squall had brought 'just in case'. Sora hadn't seen the two since. He thought it was strange, after all, Kairi was just as much of Riku's friend as Sora was, yet she wasn't even waiting alongside Sora for Riku to wake up. Sora brushed the thought aside and steeled himself to his decision. "What can I do?" Sora said, no hint of hesitation or fear apparent in his voice.

Squall sighed again and shook his head. "This is why I didn't want to say anything…" Sora's stare did not waver. "…You can share his power."

"Wh-what?"

"If you shared Riku's power…then he'd be capable of using it without threatening his life. There would be an equal balance. But that's not to say that there would be no side effects…both you and Riku would feel the loss of energy, but not quite as much…"

"How do I do it?" Sora's fist clenched until he could feel the crescent marks of his nails dig into his skin. The pain was there, but vaguely. Almost like a numbing sensation, his body seemed to lose all proper functions. He couldn't even blink, so enraptured in the words that reluctantly came from Squall's mouth.

"It's simple enough, you just have to align your energy with Riku's and have that thought in mind. Then the exchange should be made. I'm not sure what the result should be however."

"Just by thinking it, it'll happen?" Sora couldn't believe the extent of his luck. To be able to help Riku!

"You shouldn't judge. Thoughts can be very…powerful," Squall darkly said in a low voice. Sora was too busy in his fantasies to hear the man. Sora reached out to Riku and closed his eyes. He had a tighter hold on Riku's cold hand. He tried to gather any sort of energy that he had and imagined placing it with Riku. Please, let me be stronger, Sora thought. Let me be able to protect the people around me…

A brilliant flash encased Sora and Riku. Squall ran to the bed, but couldn't pass through the magnificent barrier of light. Suddenly, the light faded and Sora slumped from his seat.

"Sora!" Squall shouted, reaching to catch him before he fell from his seat. Sora was unconscious…and grasping something in his hand. A…golden…

"Keyblade?!"

-------

"Well, what do we do now?" Roxas asked for the thousandth time.

Both Namine and Kairi refrained from answering. Namine had picked up her cards after comforting Kairi in her 'Namine-ish' way and was once again aligning them on the table. Kairi had answered the first couple times, but soon fell into deep thought. Roxas couldn't blame her either; she probably was worried about her friend…Riku. A part of Roxas was extremely glad that girl Rikku was safe and being bubbly somewhere with less danger (he hoped), but he also felt horrible that Kairi and Sora's friend was injured. He wished he could say something useful or comforting, but he felt it was inappropriate since he didn't know the man. He only complained from time to time and paced around the luxurious room. He had tried to open the door several times, but it remained stubbornly shut. Namine had said that was the door that they came in through, and only shrugged when Roxas asked her if she knew why.

Roxas picked himself up and tugged again at the doorknob. He grasped it loosely and half-heartedly tugged at it. "Come on…door." He mumbled as he jerked the knob as a last attempt. He let go and the door slowly opened. He stared in mild shock with his mouth gaping open and his arm still outstretched toward the door.

Namine organized her cards into a deck holder, which was in her bag, and held Kairi's hand in hers and she gently tugged the red-haired girl up. Kairi nodded and got up without any struggle or protest. Roxas went outside to see a hall with several gargoyle statues on each side with columns placed as well. A rustic carpet was centered in the room with no other décor. The room had the same sense of luxury, but, just like the previous room, no sign of habitation or personal touch. Or even happiness, Roxas warily thought. He examined another door to the right. He tried it with no avail; it was stuck just as tightly as their door had been. At the end of the short hall was a set of stairs that led up to a large door. Two separate stairs then led to the right and left of the door.

He cautiously walked up to the stairs with the two girls walking behind him. When he arrived at the foot of the stairs, he caught sight of a poster next to the large door at the top of the stairs. An arrow was painted across it, pointing to the door. Roxas walked up the stairs and pushed the door open. It slid open without any creaks or groans. He nudged it all the way open and was astounded with the amount of light pouring out of the room. He shielded his eyes with his arm and stepped inside.

It was a grand, stunning ballroom. It was circular with a beige marble floor. There were depictions of angels on clouds on the ceiling mural. In the center were tables occupied with people. The tables seemed a bit off, as they didn't match with the overall feeling of the room. He observed the people in the seats as he made his way to an almost empty table. He noticed none of the other members of TTIP were present.

The people were exceptionally different. One table had people only wearing business suits, another of seemingly ordinary laborers and waitresses. He passed a new table where the inhabitants solely wore black. He spotted a couple of the seats empty near the table with the people in black and couldn't help but feel that a few of the them were looking at the chairs with a disgusted look, as if the chairs had done something incredibly wrong to them.

He arrived at the clear table with only four people sitting down. They all wore casual clothes, but had black cloaks slung over their chairs. They looked incredibly similar to the coats the people at the other table were wearing.

Three of the four people at the table were males, the last was a petite female. The female had blonde hair with something akin to antennas made of hair on her hair. Her clear blue eyes gave off a mocking, condescending glare as Roxas shyly neared the table.

"Um, is it alright if we sit here?" Roxas asked.

"Be my guest," A redheaded man answered in a carefree tone. The man had very chiseled features in the way that all his facial aspects were sharp and edged, even his eyes. This man's eyes had the same clearness as the woman's had, but only emitted curiosity, amusement, and something Roxas couldn't quite place though he knew it wasn't animosity

"Ah, thanks." Roxas sat across from the man with Kairi and Namine settled on each side of him. Now that he was sitting, he got a better view of the other men. One was blonde with a mullet and bright blue eyes that radiated joy and spontaneity. The man next to him had gray hair that partly fell over his face with steel gray eyes engrossed in a book he held in his hands. The mullet man kept glancing at him as if to say 'hurry up', but the gray-haired man didn't seem to notice in the slightest.

He attempted small talk to ease the awkwardness he felt. "So…why are you guys here?"

The gray-haired man looked up and responded, "The same reason you and all the other people in this room are here. We came to exterminate any supernatural beings in the vicinity."

--------

Rikku peeked her head around the corner. The coast was clear. She tiptoed down the long hall and entered the room at the end. There was a large queen-sized bed next to a strangely shaped Wardrobe. Knowing that she had little time, she hastily went through the items in the cabinet. She checked the entire contents of the furniture and found nothing that would help.

"Grrr…stupid cabinet," Rikku pouted. She turned and kneeled down to the bed. She lowered her head under the bed and examined the floor. Behind her, she suddenly heard something slowly move forward. Rikku flew up and reached for the daggers from the sides of her skirt. "Hyaah!" Rikku cried and she jumped on her attacker. She landed on something hard and smooth. "Ouchie." Rikku muttered as she rubbed the sore area of her body that landed. She looked below her to see the Wardrobe staring at her. That is to say, the wardrobe stared at her with a face. A face with lips, cheeks, and a pair of agitated eyes. Rikku stared in amazement before yelling, "Gah!" and scrambling off the furniture.

She backed up and bumped into something else. Her daggers were still in her hands and she raised them again in a defensive position. She turned around and saw a young woman standing in front of her. The woman was extraordinarily pretty, although she was wearing a simple blue dress with an apron. Her brown hair was held up in soft bun.

The woman nervously said, "Are you okay, Armoire?" The wardrobe smiled (Rikku tried not to laugh) and said, "Goodness, child, you're a lot heavier than you look."

"Am not!" Rikku indignantly said.

The woman redirected her attention on Rikku. "I'm sorry. Hello, my name is Belle. Who are you?"

------

Pretty long chapter, that is for me I mean. As you may have (or not) guessed, the case is in the Beauty and the Beast castle, though it appeared to be Twilight Town manor. It'll be explained how that happens later, rest assured. I wasn't sure whether I wanted the story to turn this way, but I think it's fine. If you don't or think it's good (or great ), please **drop** a comment.


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